Systems and methods for conditioning a gas flow in a plasma processing system

Abstract

A gas supply system for a plasma cutting system is provided. The gas supply system includes a gas supply line configured to fluidly connect between a gas source and a plasma arc torch. The gas supply line is configured to receive a gas flow from the gas source for delivery to the plasma arc torch. The gas supply system also includes an oscillatory energy source disposed on the gas supply line and a gas flow sensor disposed on the gas supply line downstream of the oscillatory energy source. The gas supply system further includes a resonation chamber fluidly connected to the gas supply line between the oscillatory energy source and the gas flow sensor. The resonation chamber is configured to dampen an oscillation in the gas flow in the gas supply line.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A gas supply system for a plasma cutting system, the gas supply system comprising:
 a gas supply line configured to fluidly connect between a gas source and a plasma arc torch, the gas supply line configured to receive a gas flow from the gas source for delivery to the plasma arc torch;   an oscillatory energy source disposed on the gas supply line;   a gas flow sensor disposed on the gas supply line downstream of the oscillatory energy source, the gas flow sensor configured to measure a flow rate of the gas flow through the gas supply line; and   a resonation chamber fluidly connected to the gas supply line between the oscillatory energy source and the gas flow sensor, the resonation chamber configured to dampen an oscillation in the gas flow in the gas supply line.   
     
     
         2 . The gas supply system of  claim 1 , wherein the oscillatory energy source is a check valve configured to prevent back flow of the gas flow in the gas supply line, wherein the check valve is adapted to introduce the oscillation in the gas flow. 
     
     
         3 . The gas supply system of  claim 1 , wherein the resonation chamber is located axially aft of the oscillatory energy source and upstream of to the gas flow sensor. 
     
     
         4 . The gas supply system of  claim 1 , further comprising a gas mixer that incorporates the gas flow sensor therein, the gas mixer configured to mix the gas flow with at least a second gas flow from a second gas source. 
     
     
         5 . The gas supply system of  claim 1 , wherein the resonation chamber is fluidly connected to the gas supply line at a non-parallel angle. 
     
     
         6 . The gas supply system of  claim 5 , wherein the non-parallel angle comprises about 90 degrees such that an axial length of the resonation chamber is oriented substantially perpendicular to the gas supply line. 
     
     
         7 . The gas supply system of  claim 1 , wherein the resonation chamber defines at least one cavity having a volume for storing an auxiliary gas. 
     
     
         8 . The gas supply system of  claim 7 , further comprising a resonator manifold configured to fluidly connect the at least one cavity of the resonation chamber to the gas supply line, the resonator manifold including a critical orifice providing an opening to the at least one cavity, wherein the critical orifice defines at least one adjustable dimension comprising a length, width, or cross-sectional area. 
     
     
         9 . The gas supply system of  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the resonation chamber or the resonator manifold is adjustable to tune a dissipation frequency of the resonation chamber to approximate one of a plurality of dominant frequencies of the gas supply system. 
     
     
         10 . The gas supply system of  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the volume of the resonation chamber, the length of the critical orifice, the width of the critical orifice or the cross-sectional area of the critical orifice is adjustable to dampen the oscillation in the gas flow in the gas supply line. 
     
     
         11 . The gas supply system of  claim 7 , wherein the resonation chamber includes a plurality of cavities. 
     
     
         12 . The gas supply system of  claim 8 , wherein the resonator manifold includes a plurality of critical orifices. 
     
     
         13 . The gas supply system of  claim 8 , wherein the resonator manifold includes a dividing membrane fluidly isolating the gas flow through the gas supply line from the auxiliary gas in the resonation chamber. 
     
     
         14 . The gas supply system of  claim 7 , wherein the volume of the at least one cavity of the resonation chamber is between about 2 cubic inches and about 4.5 cubic inches. 
     
     
         15 . A method for conditioning a gas flow through a gas supply system of a plasma cutting system, the method comprising:
 receiving, by a gas supply line, a gas flow from a gas source;   conducting, by an oscillatory energy source disposed on the gas supply line, the gas flow therethrough, wherein the conducting is adapted to introduce an oscillation in the gas flow in the gas supply line;   dynamically conditioning, by a volume of a secondary gas in a resonation chamber dynamically connected to the gas supply line between the oscillatory energy source and the gas flow sensor, the gas flow through the gas supply line to dampen the oscillation in the gas flow; and   delivering the gas flow to a plasma arc torch downstream of the resonation chamber.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the dynamic conditioning comprises supporting a fluid connection between the gas flow in the gas supply line and the secondary gas in the resonation chamber without fully isolating them from each other. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein less than about 5% of the gas flow in the gas supply line enters the resonation chamber. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the resonation chamber is dynamically connected to the gas supply line via an orifice in a resonator manifold. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the gas supply line is oriented at a non-parallel angle relative to an axial length of the orifice in the resonator manifold. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising fluidly isolating the gas flow in the gas supply line and the volume of the secondary gas in the resonation chamber from one another by a diaphragm disposed in the orifice while enabling dynamic transfer of energy between the gas flow and the secondary gas. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising measuring a flow rate of the gas flow through the gas supply line by a gas flow sensor disposed on the gas supply line downstream of the oscillatory energy source and the resonator manifold. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the dynamic conditioning by the resonation chamber comprises dissipating energy from the gas flow to the volume of secondary gas. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising adjusting one or more of a volume of the resonation chamber, a length of the orifice in the resonator manifold, a width of the orifice, or a cross-sectional area of the orifice to tune the dissipation. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising tuning a dissipation frequency to match a dominant frequency of the plasma processing system by adjusting one or more dimensions of at least one of the resonation chamber or the resonator manifold.